Carpel Tunnel Syndrome: Symptom and Causes

Symptoms include numbness, pain, tingling or a "funny feeling" in the fingers, hand, and/or wrist. Other classic symptoms include: 

• Burning, tingling, or itching numbness in the palm of the hand and fingers, especially the thumb, index, and middle fingers
  
• Fingers that feel useless and swollen with little or no apparent swelling
  
• Decreased grip strength and Inability to grasp small objects
  
• Inability to distinguish between hot and cold to the touch
  
• Pins and needles
  
• Pain in the wrist and hand
  
• Dryness of the skin
  
• Weakness
  

Causative factors include trauma or injury to the wrist that cause swelling, such as sprain or fracture; overactivity of the pituitary gland; hypothyroidism; rheumatoid arthritis; mechanical problems in the wrist joint; work stress; repeated use of vibrating hand tools; fluid retention during pregnancy or menopause; or the development of a cyst or tumor in the canal.  In some cases no cause can be identified.